Native American Response Blog; What was the impact of Christianity on Natives?
Religion played a central role in driving the European conquest of North America. Europeans used Christianity in two primary ways when conquering different parts of the world. Christianity was used to protect the morality of the European colonizers and justify their oppressive treatment of Natives. Jonathan Eacott writes in Selling Empire, that converting Natives to Christianity was a significant argument toward British expansion into India and America in the late 1500s. The people in power during the time of conquest in the Americas helped spread the belief that conquering the Native Americans and taking their lands was doing God’s work. The Europeans also defended the maltreatment of Native Americans through this same belief, claiming this was helping them turn to God. Some Europeans even expected praise from the Natives for their ‘help’. Christianity was also used as a tool for control over the Natives. By trying to force Natives to believe in Christianity, they could more easily force integration.
Comments
Post a Comment